Henley Leading Sustainable Organisations Programme

We explore the complex, interconnected crises shaping 21st-century business. We'll examine the risks and opportunities they present for organisations, and the unique role business can play in creating innovative, systemic solutions. We’ll arm you with the information you need to make a compelling business case for action.

We’ll delve into the fundamental mindset shifts that leaders need to embrace to make sense of complexity and respond effectively to increasing volatility and uncertainty in their business landscape. Participants will clarify their unique role in driving sustainable change, cultivating the inner awareness required to adopt a systemic perspective, spark creativity, build shared purpose, and inspire collective action to tackle systemic challenges.

We’ll explore the evolution of sustainable business approaches—from ‘do less harm’ to fully ‘regenerative’ models. Through real-life case studies, we’ll examine what it means to embed sustainability across your business strategy, product development, technology, operations, people, and your broader stakeholder ecosystem. You’ll also gain valuable insights from Unilever VP, Manfred Aben and regenerative entrepreneur, Jane Ní Dhulchaointigh, who will share their experiences of leading sustainable transformation and building sustainable businesses from the ground up.

You’ll leave this module with a clear understanding of what’s most important and relevant for your business on your sustainability journey, including your goals, key challenges, and the best approach for your organisation. You’ll draw on our expert faculty to refine the scope of your ambition and reflect on what you need to succeed. You’ll clarify where you’re uniquely positioned to lead, connecting with the passion that will sustain your efforts as you drive transformation within your organisation and beyond.

Most sustainability challenges, like reducing carbon emissions, shifting to clean energy, or transforming supply chains, are inherently complex. They have no single owner, multiple root causes, and often evolve faster than we can respond. Critically, there are no silver-bullet solutions. In this module, we’ll introduce cutting-edge theory and practice from systems thinking and complexity science to help you understand your sustainability challenges in a whole new way. Most importantly, you’ll learn principles for working holistically with systems to drive meaningful, lasting transformation.

In this hands-on session, you will begin mapping a sustainability challenge within your organisation using systems thinking tools. You'll apply these tools to sketch an initial map that captures the complex facets of the issue, uncovering hidden root causes and identifying the dynamic relationships between stakeholders. This session will help you plan your next steps as you prepare to deepen your understanding of these challenges back in your workplace.

Every system has leverage points, those key spots where a small shift can make a big, lasting difference. In this module, you’ll come back together after six weeks of digging into your chosen challenge and gathering insights from people across your business ecosystem. This session will help you make sense of what you’ve found, spotting leverage points, identifying influencers, and recognising what’s driving or blocking change. You'll walk away knowing where to focus your efforts to drive transformation.

Now that you’ve identified the hot spots in the system where you can intervene, this session dives into how to work with systems to spark real, lasting change. Systems are messy and unpredictable; there’s no straight line from A to B, and no quick fixes. We’ll explore what makes systems tick, how to intervene in smart and effective ways, and bring it all to life with practical examples from real sustainability challenges, like transforming supply chains, designing circular products, or shifting to clean energy.

In this module, you’ll learn how to tackle your sustainability challenges through bold, creative problem-solving. Using tried-and-tested innovation tools, you’ll tap into brainstorming techniques and design thinking methods to reframe problems and spark fresh ideas. We’ll draw on both theory and real-world practice to help you move from insight to action, generating breakthrough solutions that are practical, impactful, and ready to drive change.

In this module, you’ll build the skills to bring diverse groups together and unlock the power of co-creation and radical collaboration. You’ll practise facilitation techniques that foster shared purpose, collaboration, surface different perspectives, and build shared ownership of solutions. Through hands-on activities and real-world scenarios, you’ll learn how to guide groups through structured, inclusive processes that drive creativity, alignment, and meaningful action, especially in the face of complex sustainability challenges.

In this module, you’ll learn how to work in rapid, iterative cycles to test your ideas, learn quickly, and adapt on the go. You’ll practise techniques to prototype solutions, gather feedback, and pivot when things don’t go as planned, embracing failure as a key part of the innovation process. This hands-on approach will help you refine your ideas and develop an experiment ready to test back on the job.

In this module, you’ll step back and reflect on everything you’ve learned throughout the course. You’ll revisit the key insights, tools, and mindsets you’ve developed, and consider what they mean for your role as a leader driving transformation. This is your chance to connect the dots, identify the next steps on your journey, and create a clear, practical action plan to take forward and apply in your organisation.